Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency

Abstract Microsaccades that occur during fixation were studied extensively in response to transient stimuli, showing a typical inhibition (Oculomotor Inhibition, OMI), and a later release with a latency that depends on stimulus saliency, attention, and expectations. Here, we investigated the hypothe...

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Main Authors: Oren Kadosh, Yoram S. Bonneh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10605-1
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author Oren Kadosh
Yoram S. Bonneh
author_facet Oren Kadosh
Yoram S. Bonneh
author_sort Oren Kadosh
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Microsaccades that occur during fixation were studied extensively in response to transient stimuli, showing a typical inhibition (Oculomotor Inhibition, OMI), and a later release with a latency that depends on stimulus saliency, attention, and expectations. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that in free viewing every saccade provides a new transient stimulation that should result in a stimulus-dependent OMI like a flashed presentation during fixation. Participants (N = 16) freely inspected static displays of randomly oriented Gabor texture images, with varied contrast and spatial frequency (SF) for periods of 10 s each. Eye tracking recordings were divided into epochs triggered by saccade landing (> 1 dva), and microsaccade latency relative to fixation onset was computed (msRT). We found that the msRT in free viewing was shorter for more salient stimuli (higher contrast or lower SF), as previously found for flashed stimuli. It increased with saccade size and decreased across successive saccades, but only for higher contrast, suggesting contrast-dependent repetition enhancement in free viewing. Our results indicate that visual stimulus-dependent inhibition of microsaccades also applies to free viewing. These findings are in agreement with the similarity found between event-related and fixation-related potentials and open the way for studies combining both approaches to study natural vision.
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spelling doaj.art-8bc89d6a26f9463a872a1eaa18045b002022-12-22T01:07:10ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-04-0112111210.1038/s41598-022-10605-1Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliencyOren Kadosh0Yoram S. Bonneh1School of Optometry and Vision Science, The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversitySchool of Optometry and Vision Science, The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityAbstract Microsaccades that occur during fixation were studied extensively in response to transient stimuli, showing a typical inhibition (Oculomotor Inhibition, OMI), and a later release with a latency that depends on stimulus saliency, attention, and expectations. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that in free viewing every saccade provides a new transient stimulation that should result in a stimulus-dependent OMI like a flashed presentation during fixation. Participants (N = 16) freely inspected static displays of randomly oriented Gabor texture images, with varied contrast and spatial frequency (SF) for periods of 10 s each. Eye tracking recordings were divided into epochs triggered by saccade landing (> 1 dva), and microsaccade latency relative to fixation onset was computed (msRT). We found that the msRT in free viewing was shorter for more salient stimuli (higher contrast or lower SF), as previously found for flashed stimuli. It increased with saccade size and decreased across successive saccades, but only for higher contrast, suggesting contrast-dependent repetition enhancement in free viewing. Our results indicate that visual stimulus-dependent inhibition of microsaccades also applies to free viewing. These findings are in agreement with the similarity found between event-related and fixation-related potentials and open the way for studies combining both approaches to study natural vision.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10605-1
spellingShingle Oren Kadosh
Yoram S. Bonneh
Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
Scientific Reports
title Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
title_full Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
title_fullStr Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
title_full_unstemmed Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
title_short Fixation-related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
title_sort fixation related saccadic inhibition in free viewing in response to stimulus saliency
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10605-1
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